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Month: September 2017

For this they won a million bux???

Yup. A million buck prize for a “smart” holster that … get this: Has a battery that lasts half a day if you draw your gun six times (and a maximum of 3.5 days if you never draw your gun at all), making practice sessions sooooo quick and easy; Also relies on fingerprint ID (with all the usual fallabilities that implies); And voice ID (ditto); ANNNNND an RFID reader (ditto); And — ta da! — puts a bar through the trigger guard. For your safety. Man. Rube Goldberg probably wishes he were still alive. He’d be a multiple gazillionaire now.

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Thursday links

  • Equifax keeps digging itself a deeper and deeper hole. Turns out they’ve been directing people to a phishing site instead of their actual “find out if you’ve been affected” site. (Fortunately the phishing site is an honest one. It was set up by a security researcher to show how vulnerable Equifax’s actual hack-info site is.)
  • But don’t worry! When we’re all making purchases via finger-vein readers, all will be well forever after. Absolutely infallible security. (H/T ML)
  • Yeah, and this discreet wearable + phone app will make you feelz safe, too. As long as you’re not in any immediate, actual danger. 13 Comments
  • A dog’s life

    Ava had dental surgery today. Under general anesthetic. She just came home from Furrydoc’s. I may have enhanced the eyes on that last one. Slightly. I admit nothing. The funniest thing was watching her try to walk. Best analogy: a drunk at 2:00 a.m., trying verrrrry, verrrrry carefully to pass his field sobriety test. The unfunniest part will getting the vet bill at the end of the month. Fortunately Furrydoc lets me pay installments. When Ava had been awake long enough to come home, Furrydoc texted me: “Your princess awaits her carriage.” She knows Her Royal Highness Princess Ava Prettypaws…

    10 Comments

    A Monday ramble

    Actually, not so much rambling as sitting indoors under a tornado warning. The current twister probably won’t come near my neighborhood, but we have about 30 more hours of unsettled weather, so who knows what we might eventually see? And here I thought The Wandering Monk was joking when he said if a tornado struck the NW corner of the screen porch would be the safest place in the house. I may have to find out. —– Quite to my surprise, we are in the midst of National Unmarried and Singles Week. I had no idea, did you? How did…

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    Monday links

  • She moved from a blue state to a sort of reddish one and had her eyes opened — both about her new home and the prejudices of the people she left behind.
  • Ha. Remember the monkey selfie case that PETA just settled? A lawyer who crusades against bad settlements submits a hilarious brief pointing out that PETA has no standing to settle on the monkey’s behalf.
  • That new “liberal” pope has been anything but liberal — or transparent or different than recent old popes — when it comes to priests who sexualize kiddies. 5 Comments
  • The rainy season returns

    An hour or two from now, the skies are scheduled to open. They’ve been closed by clouds the last two days, and when they open this time it won’t be to reveal summer blue. We’re looking at a week of rain. Not Harvey rain, not Irma rain, but typical of this part of the world; once the faucet’s on, it doesn’t care to stop. I am SO not ready for this. I’ve been dashing-dashing-dashing to get the place ready for the wet. For a while I was roaring with energy. But my oomph ran out before the projects and cleanup…

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    Happiness is another miraculously wonderful house project (mostly) done and ready to enjoy

    The Wandering Monk visited the blog the other day. He says there aren’t enough pictures. So here you go. Not long ago, I gave you the tale of the west wall. Now here’s the north wall and how we (but as always, mostly the Monk) solved the Dreaded Drainage problems and created beauty. Few words, many pictures. Reduced out of mercy. Click to embiggenate. And enjoy! 2013 … 2015. After Handyman Mike’s dreadfully botched bathroom remodel. My heart sank. This photo also gives you an idea of the way the back of the house was sunk into the bottom of…

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